Social & economic studies

Photograph courtesy of Jake Simkin

The burden of malaria is shouldered by some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities on our planet.

Malaria control and elimination goals set by public health, governmental and philanthropic bodies intend to reduce this burden. Translation of these goals into practice frequently relies on investment in technologies, such as drugs, bed nets and tests, which need to be widely used.

Economic evaluations of such technologies help identify the most efficient use of scare resources, a crucial component to sustaining financial support and achieving goals. Both the cost and effectiveness of interventions rely on their uptake and use. Social studies highlight that the priorities and motivations of populations at whom interventions are targeted may differ from those of goal setters. This can lead to low uptake or unintended use of technologies.

Malaria Centre members study the perceptions, use, equity implications, costs and affordability of malaria interventions amongst different populations, including communities, patients and health care providers. Researchers are engaged with international and national policy makers through to end users in designing intervention packages that help to integrate technologies with local priorities and in evaluating the economic and social processes and impacts of these interventions.